Tag Archive: anarchists

The following is a timeline of anti-police activity from the triangle area in the last few months. We assembled this to help folks in digesting this recent period, connecting the dots of various, seemingly disparate kinds of activity, and strategizing about future efforts. This list is most certainly incomplete, and we would welcome any additions with links, pictures etc., which can be sent to triAanarchy@riseup.net .

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Aug 15th – The Chapel Hill Police Headquarters is vandalized by a group of anarchists claiming solidarity with prisoner Luke O Donovan, incarcerated for defending himself from homophobic violence in Atlanta, Ga, and with the ongoing uprising in Ferguson. Police cars are smashed out and spray-painted.

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August 22nd – Over 100 people hold an angry rally and proceed to march down Franklin St. In solidarity with the riots and protests in Ferguson. In response to a column in the Daily Tar Heel condemning the anger and tone of the protest, a piece is released online and in paper several days later that defends the protest. (more…)

DURHAM — Hundreds of protesters filled downtown Durham on Tuesday to condemn the grand jury process in Ferguson, Missouri, which failed to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown.

But while protestors shouted about a show of solidarity with the residents of Ferguson, there appeared to be no unity between two separate groups who came to downtown to voice their anger over the grand jury’s decision.

One group gathered on the CCB Plaza and used spoken word and other forms of artistic discourse to express themselves.

“We want to show solidarity with the people of Ferguson,” said Eric Jefferson, a graduate student at N.C. Central University, who said he is part of a group that calls itself Black Is. “This is part of life. Everybody is part of the struggle whether they realize it or not.” (more…)

On Tuesday night November 25th, a group of people enraged by the police murder of Mike-Mike Brown, and inspired by the rebellious acts that have spread across the country, vandalized the Durham National Guard Armory on Stadium Dr. Messages were painted on the front doors and over a dozen windows were smashed out.

The National Guard is now on the streets of St. Louis and Ferguson, continuing the racist cops’ war on behalf of the rich against the poor.

This act followed an exciting night of protest in downtown Durham, in which a diverse hundreds of people spoke out about their experiences at the hands of the police, blocked streets, set off fireworks, spray-painted buildings with anti-police and anti-prison messages, and blocked the northbound side of Highway 147.

We hope all of these acts contribute to a continued escalation in local, combative struggle against racism, capitalism, and the state.

To Change Everything, Start Anywhere

The radical milieu in the U.S. is vibrant and complex, but few projects last very long. Generations shift rapidly, and so do our projects. CrimethInc. Ex-Workers’ Collective seems to be an exception.

If you’ve ever lived in a punk house, participated in running an infoshop or social center, gone to an anarchist book fair or protest convergence, chances are you’ve seen CrimethInc. posters pinned to the walls, copies of Recipes for Disaster or Days of War, Nights of Love on the bookshelves, or stacks of Fighting for Our Lives pamphlets lying around. Perhaps you read the“Letter from Anarchists” at your local Occupy camp. There are few contemporary anarchist organizations whose work has passed through so many hands and been read by so many people as the CrimethInc. Ex-Workers’ Collective. In its twenty years of activity, CrimethInc. has distributed hundreds of thousands of books, posters, magazines, and stickers to countless people on all continents including Antarctica.

The idea that history is something we make by our actions, not something that merely happens to us, is central to CrimethInc.’s approach. In their familiar, high-fidelity way, they encourage people to take this history into their own hands. Tempting us to grab the steering wheel of our own lives and turn toward something that enables a more livable existence. Though the collective members remain in anonymity – some twenty years later! – the idea somehow persists that CrimethInc. can be anyone. (more…)

DURHAM — On Saturday, members of the National Guard arrived at the armory off North Duke Street in Durham to find it locked and vandalized.

A group that identified its members only as “some Bull City anarchists” glued five sets of locks on the armory’s fenced lot to interrupt traffic flow and chained the front doors of the armory shut. Officers from the Durham Police Department responded at 6:41 a.m. on Saturday, said spokeswoman Kammie Michael.

The vandals’ hope was to disrupt the National Guard’s weekend operations, according to an anonymous message sent to The Herald-Sun and posted on anarchistnews.org.

The anarchists also left a message in red spray paint on the front of the building: “Disobey orders. Solidarity with Missouri Rebels. (Expletive) the Police.”

Lt. Cl. Matt Devivo, director of public affairs for the North Carolina National Guard, said the weekend drill was not disrupted, and that safety and operation are the National Guard’s top priorities.

“We definitely take it pretty seriously and are working with the Durham Police Department on the investigation,” said a representative at the armory.

Devivo said that the armory had the equipment on hand to remove the locks and clean up glue that was poured into keyholes.

In the anonymous message, the vandals said that their actions were to support rioters in Ferguson, Missouri, after the National Guard occupied the town in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown.

The group also had a message for the National Guard in Durham.

“To those of you who train at this facility,” the anonymous email said, “we would encourage you to think now about what it would mean to fire on your own neighbors and community members. … Which side are you on? If it was your son or daughter murdered by the cops, what side then?”
Devivo said he had no comment about the message in the graffiti across the building and that the Police Department’s investigation was ongoing.

“We’re going to support (the police) in any way that we can,” he said.

When Cops Stay Hiding & Go Running:
A Report Back from 8/8 Night of Action & 8/30 March for Ryan Ronquillo in Denver, CO

As the event to raise funds for Ryan Ronquillo’s family drew to a close and the banner reading “Justice for Ryan Ronquillo” was lowered, the crowd seemed anxious. There were about 60 people left of the 250 who came through the door for the event that was co-organized with the family and their friends, along with local hip hop artists Brer Rabbit, Sole, Molina Speaks, Stay Tuned, Jonny 5, and Time. Maybe anxiety wasn’t really the feeling going around that night. People were on edge, sure. But mostly people. The District Attorney Mitch Morrissey had just made the decision to close the “investigation”—If you can call it that—of Ryan’s assassination at the Romero Funeral home on July 2nd of this year (2014). He concluded that because he was in a car, he wielded a deadly weapon and thus his death was justified and all the cops involved would face no further scrutiny. His parents didn’t even know about the DA’s decision until some of their friends found out on 9 News, and were in complete shock. They were shut out of the entire investigative process, and still hadn’t been able to learn the names of those who murdered their son until that night, with the publication of the DA’s decision. (more…)

On August 9th, a white police officer murdered an unarmed Black teenager named Michael Brown (“Mike-Mike”) on the streets of Ferguson, MO, a couple miles north of St. Louis. Nothing about this was abnormal or newsworthy in any way; it was simply another reminder of the cheapness of poor Black life in the United States in 2014. Typically, such tragedies are swept under the rug with ease, by the usual combination of go-nowhere state investigations, mild officer reprimands, and calls for calm, prayer, and peace issued by Civil Rights and church leaders and echoed by the liberal media.

But in Ferguson, something different happened. Black residents, along with a few white people from the immediate and surrounding areas, fought back against the white supremacist authority of the police. They took over the main street of town, pushing police out of the area entirely. Pavement was broken up for projectiles, stores were looted and attacked, the QT where a customer had called the cops on Mike-Mike was burned to the ground. Until it was fenced in, the QT lot became a kind of gathering place, covered in spraypainted anti-cop lyrics and references to revolutions of the past.(more…)

On the night of Friday, August 22nd, a rally was held in front of the Chapel Hill post office to support the protesters and rioters in Ferguson. An anarchist student group, the UNControllables, initially called for the rally, and other groups like the Black Student Movement and the UNC Ebony Readers Poetry Group promoted and participated in the event. Handbills were also distributed door to door, on car windshields, and at apartment complexes throughout town. This was only one of several events that have occurred in the Triangle area with regards to Ferguson—the week before saw a large vigil in Durham, a nighttime attack upon the Chapel Hill Police HQ, and events at various churches.

The rally began with speeches about growing up Black in this white supremacist culture, about the fear and hatred of the police, about local struggles like the marches and attacks against the Durham Police last winter. One speaker brought some to tears with a poem that exclaimed, “I always wanted daughters, because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to teach my sons how to be black men.” Another speaker followed up, “That is why this march is happening in Chapel Hill. It’s not just Ferguson, but the United States.a(more…)

(Blog editors’ note: this story was reposted from anarchistnews.org and is not original content of the Prison Books Collective. We thought this was quite obvious, but local journalists seem to be having a problem with this.)

In the early hours of August 14th, three police cruisers were smashed out at the Chapel Hill Police Department Headquarters in Chapel Hill, NC. A message was also painted on one of the cars, reading, “For Luke.”

This was done as a small gesture of solidarity with Luke O’Donovan, of Atlanta, GA, who was recently sentenced to two years in prison for defending himself against five homophobic attackers. We hope this brings a smile to his face.

We also carried out this act in solidarity with the rioters and looters of Ferguson, MO, who, in the face of continued brutality by racist police, have inspired the world with their courageous resistance against the forces of state, capital, and white supremacy. May their insurrection spread.

Both as small groups and entire neighborhoods, it is possible to fight back.

Prison Books Update: Steve Jablonski’s statement has been called into question. Please see comments section of this article for a written statement regarding the time Steve Jablonski spent on the run.

Hi, my name is Steven Jablonski. I am anarchist and Grand Jury Resister.

After living in exile in Canada for about a year and a half, I returned to United States about a month ago. My return was not meant to be secretive but I felt the need to take some time for myself to collect my thoughts and decompress before I releasing an official statement. I now feel ready to break the silence and clarify some of the confusion around me being subpoenaed for the Seattle Grand Jury investigating May Day 2012 in Seattle. (more…)